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A conservative financial strategy has been critical to Jay Baker’s ability to take a small startup portable sanitation company — 28 Rentals, of Clinton, Oklahoma — and turn it into something substantial and sustainable. This entrepreneur is always careful to avoid over-extending the company’s finances by purchasing equipment that’s more expensive than he can afford.

On the other hand, he’s not afraid to splurge on value-added features that will pay dividends down the road. A good example: Baker’s two restroom service vehicles. Built by Best Enterprises, they feature slide-in units with stainless steel tanks.

Operating on a shoestring budget when starting out in 2011, Baker saved money by buying slide-in units instead of a purpose-built vacuum truck. Moreover, he mounted his first slide-in unit on his personal 3/4-ton pickup truck. “I could’ve bought a cheaper tank, too — not stainless steel — but I knew a stainless steel tank will last just about forever,” he explains.

From there, Baker says he “stair-stepped” his way up to bigger trucks. After several months, business was good enough to justify investing in a Ford 3/4-ton pickup, which allowed him to take back his personal truck. About a year later, he bought a Ford 1-ton pickup to carry the same slide-in unit.

Six months later, he bought his second slide-in unit, larger than the first. “That gave me increased capacity to handle more service stops per day, which improved productivity,” he says. That unit required a larger truck, a Ford F-550.

When Baker felt business was strong enough to justify it, he traded in the Fords for the Dodge 4500s he currently runs. “I wanted something a little bit stouter,” he explains. “We travel down a lot of rough roads, so we needed vehicles that could hold up to that.”

Does he foresee buying something other than slide-in units down the road? “I might go bigger some day, but we’re doing fine with what we have,” he notes. “No need to fix what ain’t broke.”